Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes (English: Thomas Hobbes, April 5, 1588 - December 4, 1679) was a British political philosopher and the founder of the modern liberal political philosophy system. He also created a complete system of mechanical materialism, believing that the universe is the sum of all mechanically moving extended objects. He proposed the theory of "state of nature" and the origin of the state, believing that the state was formed by people entering into a contract to abide by "natural law" and was a man-made robot. When the monarch can fulfill the responsibilities of ensuring the safety of the people as stipulated in the contract, the people should be completely loyal to the monarch. His book Leviathan, published in 1651, laid the foundation for all subsequent developments in Western political philosophy. Hobbes's thoughts had a profound influence on subsequent Montesquieu and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, but at the same time, his social contract theory had its own uniqueness compared with absolute monarchy. Although Hobbes is best known for his works on political philosophy, he also wrote on many other subjects, including history, geometry, ethics, physics, theology, and law. In addition, Hobbes believed that human behavior is self-centred, which has also become an important theory in philosophical anthropology research.